The Use of

the Logo of the

European Commission
Guidelines for
Partner Organisations
April 2012

Corporate
Communication
T h e u s e o f t h e l o g o o f t h e E u r o p e a n C o m m i s s i o n Guidelines for Partner Organisations 2

Introduction II. Request for permission to use

The European Commission cooperates with
many external organisations and the need to use
the European Commission logo by third parties
frequently arises.
The logo of the European Commission is a protected
trademark. The European Commission will pursue
cases of abuse and fraudulent use of the logo.
I. Terms and conditions of use
The logo of the European Commission may be
used by third parties subject to the following
terms and conditions:
The European Commission logo may be used only if:
Permission is requested and granted before
the logo is used;
There is no likelihood of the user of the logo
being confused with the European Commission;
the EC logo
Request for permission should be submitted to
the European Commission department which
the external organisation is in contact with. All
European Commission departments and services
are authorised to give permission to third parties
to use the EC logo subject to the terms and
conditions as described above.
Requests for permission can also be submitted to the
Visual Identity Team of the European Commission by
e-mail: comm-visual-identity@ec.europa.eu
III. Downloading the EC logo
Third parties can download, copy and store the
European Commission logo in all its formats
and versions from the Visual Identity Resource
page of the European Commissions website.
(URL: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/communication/
services/visual_identity/index_en.htm)

It is not used in connection with objectives or

activities which are incompatible with the aims
and principles of the European Commission;
It is not used to imply or suggest unintended
endorsement or promotion of the objectives
and activities of the user of the logo by the
European Commission.
The logo shall be used in its entirety without distorting,
modifying or separating its component elements.
Permission to use the European Commission logo
does not confer on those to whom it is granted
any right of exclusive use, nor does it allow them
to appropriate the logo, either by registration or
any other means. Each case will be examined
individually to ascertain whether it satisfies the
criteria set out above. This will be unlikely in a
commercial context if the logo of the European
Commission is used in conjunction with a companys
own logo, name or trade mark.
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IV. Graphical placement of the V. Types of use of the EC logo by

EC logo
The logo of the European Commission must be
visible in its entirety and placed on a background
which does not compromise its integrity. The logo
is unalterable and inseparable in all its component
elements. Modifying the logo in any way is strictly
prohibited. For reasons of integrity and visibility,
it should always be surrounded by a clear space,
or protection area, which no other element (text,
image, drawing, figure...) can infringe upon.
partner organisations
Co-branding
Co-branding shall be used for products and activi-
ties in which the European Commission is involved
as equal partner. For co-branding with external or-
ganisations logos, make sure all logos have equal
and balanced visual weight and align them with
each other horizontally. The Commission logo shall
be placed along with the logos of other organisers
and it should be proportionately the same size as
the size of the logos of other organisations. The
protocol order of the logos should be decided in
each case as appropriate.
An example of co-branding is shown here:

Placing the logo on a background which contains

texture or graphical elements such as lines,
shades, etc. can only be permitted if the visibility
and integrity of the logo is not compromised
and the protection area is respected. If the
background would distort or interfere with the
logo, the protection area around the logo should
be white or marked with a flat colour.
T h e u s e o f t h e l o g o o f t h e E u r o p e a n C o m m i s s i o n Guidelines for Partner Organisations 4

Sign-off Some examples of sign-off are shown here:

Sign-off shall be used for products and activities

which the European Commission supports but is
not directly involved in, or when the European
Commission is involved as a minor partner. In this
case, the Commission logo shall appear togeth- Supported by the
er with a text line which explains the nature of
involvement of the European Commission.
A typical example is a study or report paid for by the
Commission but written and published by an exter- An initiative
nal organisation using its own visual identity. of the

The text line and the EC logo shall be placed to-

gether at a distinctive but not necessarily prominent
place and well apart from any other logos. Co-funded by the

It is not obligatory to use the EC Square Sans

Pro font for the text line next to the logo. Part-
ner organisations might not have a licence to
use this font which is commercially available
In collaboration
as PF Square Sans Pro. Suggested alternatives
with the
are: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri and Trebuchet.
This does not limit the use of EC logo itself,
including the name of the Commission displayed
in EC Square Sans Pro.
There is no exhaustive list of text lines which can
appear together with the EC logo. The text shall
express the nature of involvement of the European
Commission.

Contact
If you have questions regarding the use of the
European Commission logo, please write to
comm-visual-identity@ec.europa.eu